


Small Town, Just Like Me

by Ellie603



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Radio, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Business Woman May, F/M, Flirting on the Radio, Radio DJ Coulson, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-19 22:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie603/pseuds/Ellie603
Summary: Melinda May is a consultant assigned to work for a month at a company over the mountain, and she is anything but excited about the prospect. There’s nothing to do outside the city, and it’s not like she’s here to make friends. But the one bright spot in the otherwise boring landscape is the radio station just upstairs and its very charming evening DJ, Phil Coulson, who might just make Melinda change her mind about small towns… and a couple other things.





	1. little opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> So after the beauty (and trauma) of the finale, I started thinking about what I wanted to do for my next AU, and eventually I ended up with this kind of cross between a Small Town AU, a Radio DJ AU, a Workers in the Same Office Building AU, and a couple other things because apparently I can't do anything straightforward. In my typical fashion, this will be a pretty slow burn with the whole gang (and lots of Philinda, obviously). I really hope you guys like it!!!
> 
> Enjoy!!
> 
> Title comes from John Mellencamp's "Small Town."

Melinda May sighed as she drove down a mountain approaching the outskirts of the small town where she was going to spend the next month. It was after eight, and Melinda could only make out the faintest traces of the sunset from behind the distant hills, a small cluster of lights down below her marking her destination. She thought jealously of Daisy, her partner in this assignment, who had been able to leave the city this morning and get into the new town and settle in while it was still light out. Melinda had been kept late at work, even though it was a Sunday, and the extra hour-long drive over the mountain to her new temporary home hadn’t been particularly welcome. 

Melinda was a marketing consultant with a firm in the city, but herjob occasionally sent her elsewhere, and this particular assignment was looking like it might be one of the worst.

“Hey May,” Melinda’s boss and good friend Bobbi Morse had greeted her the previous week with an almost regretful smile that Melinda knew well. 

Melinda had sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “Where are you sending me this time?” she had said finally. 

“Over the mountain,” Bobbi had said apologetically. “There’s an advertising agency. It should take about a month.” 

Melinda had been a little relieved that Bobbi wasn’t sending her in the other direction, since she didn’t have the best memories of next few towns in their valley, but traveling over the mountain meant that she would be at least an hour from the city and that there would be absolutely nothing to do. 

“Just me?” Melinda had asked finally rather than complain about a completely reasonable assignment from her boss. 

Bobbi had shaken her head, brightening slightly at Melinda’s question. “No. Daisy’s going with you.” 

Melinda had finally managed a small smile at that information. She liked Daisy a lot and would certainly be glad of the company off in the middle of nowhere. 

“Well here are all the details.” Bobbi had handed her a small packet of papers. “It should be pretty straightforward. Oh, but one annoying thing is that the only hotel over there is on the complete opposite side of town from where you’re working, so you’ll still have a bit of a drive in every morning. Sorry about that.”

Melinda had nodded, letting her friend know that she didn’t blame her for the inconvenience. It’s not like extra driving was going to make the assignment any worse.

So here she was, more than a week later, on her way to some hotel in the middle of nowhere to start her new assignment the next morning. 

From the preliminary work she’d done, the office they were going to be working in for the next month seemed acceptable, but Melinda really wasn’t looking forward to living in the small town over the mountain. 

It was tiny compared to the city where Melinda lived, and it was far enough away that it was a hassle to drive home too often. From what she’d heard, it was the kind of town where everyone knew everyone else, and though she hadn’t even made it into the valley yet, Melinda already longed for the anonymity of the city. She didn’t need anyone knowing her business, but she could already hear a hotel receptionist asking her all about what she was up to in town. 

Daisy was much more social than Melinda and seemed excited that they were going to be spending time in a quaint little retreat where everyone was probably “so nice.”

Melinda didn’t particularly care one way or another if anyone was “nice;” she was just here to do her job, nothing more. 

As a consultant she had taken on more than a handful of these out of city assignments, but she’d learned long ago not to get attached to anyone she met in the new towns she worked in, whether they were nice or not. Any friends she had ever made on assignment ended up drifting away after she left, and though it had happened years ago, the memory of Andrew was still fresh in her mind every time she left the city for work. It was far too much effort to try to make friends or find a place in a town that wouldn’t matter to her in a month. She already had a good group of friends back home, and Daisy would be with her at least, so Melinda had already determined that she didn’t need to try to like anything in this new town. 

And besides, even if she wanted to be part of the town, there was nothing to like. There was almost nothing to do out here at all. Some businesses (like the ad agency) had headquarters out here due, Melinda was certain, to cheap real estate costs, but Melinda knew that the actual town itself was just a few shops, some churches, some restaurants, and not much else. And they all closed by nine. Literally all anyone _could_ do in the evenings was head home. Or in her case head to the hotel that was going to be her home for the next month. 

She longed to turn around and drive right back up the mountain that separated this new town from the city. Back in the city there were several decent bars just within walking distance of her office, and she and her work friends often went to hear live music at a coffee shop downtown. It had started as the group going to support Daisy’s boyfriend Lincoln, who worked as a nurse but played guitar in his spare time, but soon it had turned into a weekly event for all the women in Melinda’s office. 

When she thought about it, Melinda realized that those nights honestly might be what she would end up missing most while she was stuck in this little town. It was always a lot of fun to spend time with her friends, and the kind of unpolished music they played at the coffee shop was a great way to end a hectic week, and was certainly much better than anything this town could offer.

The radio station Melinda had been listening to dissolved into static as she descended the mountain, and she sighed again and began to flip through stations trying to find something decent, or at least inoffensive. 

After a few turns of the dial she ended up on an acoustic cover of some recent song she only vaguely remembered. It wasn’t bad. At the very least it was better than the country music that seemed to be playing on every other station that she could get in this godforsaken valley. 

The song played the whole way through and then immediately faded into a more upbeat indie song that Melinda had never heard before. She found herself tapping her fingers against the steering wheel along with the beat. This _really_ wasn’t bad. 

As the music faded out, a male voice came on an identified the song and the cover that had come before it. 

“I promised you all some new music tonight, so I hope that delivered,” the voice said with a soft sort of enthusiasm that made Melinda picture a wide smile behind the microphone. “That has to be one of my favorites right now. Call in your requests or make them on our website – yes, my friends, Shield finally added a request feature to our website – biggest news since they remodeled Walmart last year, I know.”

Melinda found herself smiling at the man’s showy banter. He was actually a pretty decent DJ, especially for a station way out here on the other side of the mountain (as they always referred to this area back in the city). 

“There’s a couple really cool covers coming up this hour, and more of your requests. I’m Phil Coulson, and we’ll be right back here on 94.7, The Shield!” 

The station devolved into commercials for local businesses, but Melinda didn’t try to find a different station. She honestly really liked this kind of music, and there was something about that DJ that she liked. Melinda had heard plenty of radio DJs in her life that made her want to tear her hair out, but she could definitely stand to listen to this guy a bit more. 

As promised, Phil presented some more acoustic covers and even some local original music, which reminded Melinda of the kind of stuff that musicians played in their favorite coffee shop on Friday nights. And Phil himself made jokes about indie musicians and the newly revamped station website which was apparently prone to crashing. 

“Okay so I’m hearing that the new request feature is having a couple problems,” Phil said a bit later in Melinda’s drive, his voice still calm despite the hiccup, “which honestly I’m a bit relieved to hear because I’ve gotten about 20 requests for some Kanye West song, and I was getting kind of concerned. You guys know I play indie music, right? Not rap? I’m gonna blame this entirely on the website and expect that this won’t happen again.”

Melinda could almost see the reproachful glare that the DJ (whatever he looked like) was giving his audience. She found herself smiling at his words and at the ease at which he was handling the problem. 

Ten minutes later he was back with an update. 

“Website should be back up and running folks, send in those requests!” 

But another ten minutes after that he retracted his previous statement. 

“Apologies for that last announcement, the website is _not_ up and running… I guess just call me?” Phil conceded, his tone still more amused than anything. “I feel like some dumped boyfriend who keeps leaving voicemails on his ex-girlfriend’s phone. I’m sorry Jessica! Take me back!” 

The radio abruptly began playing another song without preamble, and Melinda started laughing. She couldn’t remember ever being so entertained by this kind of ridiculous radio chatter. This Phil guy really knew what he was doing. 

When Melinda finally pulled into the parking lot of the hotel where she was going to have to stay for the next month, she realized that she hadn’t thought about how much she was dreading the assignment for the entire trip down into the valley; she had been too distracted by her radio. 

But as she shut off the car, silencing the enthusiastic DJ mid-sentence, the reality of her situation came crashing down to her. The poorly lit parking lot of this dated-looking hotel was going to be her life for the next month. Great.

Melinda grabbed her bags from the trunk of her car and walked into the lobby where the receptionist, as predicted, _did_ want to hear about why she was in town and also wanted to give her reviews for what must have been all of the restaurants in the area before Melinda was finally able to escape to her room. 

But she’d only just closed the door and thrown her things down on her bed when there was a knock in the hallway. 

Melinda groaned internally, but when she glanced in the peephole she was met with the only face she was at all amendable to seeing at this hour. 

“Daisy!” Melinda said with a relieved sigh as she opened the door. “I thought you were that receptionist from the lobby trying to give me more breakfast recommendations.” 

“You should listen to her,” Daisy replied, smiling. “She suggested the restaurant I went to for dinner, and it was amazing. I think I might have been born for small town living.”

Melinda rolled her eyes but gestured for Daisy to come in while she unpacked. 

Daisy chatted pleasantly about their new assignment and everything she’d learned about the town since she’d arrived early that afternoon, with Melinda chiming in only sporadically. 

Melinda just wanted to get to work. Get in, get out, and, with any luck, do it sooner than anticipated so they could get back home. That was the goal. 

Eventually Daisy decided it was time to get some sleep, so she excused herself and told Melinda that she’d see her bright and early the next morning with a smile that Melinda didn’t return. 

Melinda glanced out the window of her hotel and was met with blackness punctuated only by the occasional streetlight; a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the city. Despite what Daisy had said about the town, there couldn’t really be anything for Melinda out here. 

But a voice crept into Melinda’s mind, a funny radio DJ who had a nice taste in music.

Maybe it wasn’t quite all bad on the other side of the mountain.


	2. oh, those small communities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this up yesterday, but I was distracted by life things, as happens :)
> 
> This part's a bit more background and build up to future things - and also an excuse to add in Mack and Elena since they make everything better.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Melinda woke up the next morning with any positive thoughts about her new assignment gone from her head. She had slept badly; the sheets were scratchy, the room was just a bit too hot, and she desperately missed her apartment back in the city. She’d been planning on getting to the gym before work, but after such a bad night she was only able to manage a quick shower before meeting her partner. 

Daisy, in contrast, had slept very well and was happy and excited, easily making small talk with the hotel employees as they ate breakfast in the area just off the lobby.

Melinda just sipped her tea in silence. 

Later, when she turned on her car to drive across town to the building they would be working in, she was immediately assaulted by some energetic morning show hosts named Davis and Piper telling a long, drawn out story that Melinda really wasn’t in the mood to listen to. Instead of trying to find another station, she turned off the radio itself. Peace and quiet, if only for twenty minutes. 

On her drive to the office building she’d be spending the next month in, Melinda looked out at the town that she hadn’t really seen in the dark the night before. As expected, there were little shops, churches, small businesses, people talking on street corners. On the other side of town the businesses became less and less numerous before she finally arrived at a three story building sitting on a relatively isolated hill overlooking the town she had just driven through. 

“94.7 THE SHIELD” was emblazoned across the windows of the third floor in large characters. Melinda recognized the station name from the previous night, but Daisy pulled up next to her and started chattering about work before Melinda could even think about the radio station. 

Melinda and Daisy walked into a building and up to an office on the second floor where they were greeted by a receptionist and then a manager before they were introduced to a series of employees, none of whom seemed overwhelmingly friendly. 

The manager eventually left Melinda and Daisy at a pair of desks by a window overlooking the parking lot so they could settle in, adding that they would have a meeting with the marketing team after lunch. The man then disappeared back into an office, and Melinda and Daisy didn’t see him again for the rest of the morning. 

The whole place was efficient and no-nonsense, no one trying to get attached to them in this little town that they were only going to be in for a month. Melinda was pleased, even if Daisy seemed a little bit disappointed.

Daisy did manage some small talk with the employees at desks nearby, but she only really perked up at lunchtime when she came over to Melinda’s desk and tapped her arm to get her attention. 

“There’s a couple places to grab food downstairs,” Daisy explained when Melinda looked up. “Come on.” 

Melinda shook her head. “I have leftovers from yesterday, go on without me.”

Daisy laughed and grabbed the box from Melinda’s desk. “You have to at least come eat with me. We need to meet people, this has been such a boring morning.” 

Melinda groaned but stood up and followed Daisy to the stairwell.

They ended up in what looked like a miniature food court with a small café and a sandwich shop to one side and half-filled tables in rows across the room. 

“Apparently there wasn’t anywhereto get lunch around here so these two places rented out part of the first floor and built this little area,” Daisy explained, looking around happily. 

Melinda just nodded and moved to find a free table as Daisy went off to buy a sandwich. 

Melinda noticed a few glances her way as she sat alone. With only a few businesses in the building, her unfamiliar face probably stood out pretty easily. But either because she looked unfriendly or because the other business people were unfriendly themselves, no one came over to say anything, which relieved Melinda a bit. She was pretty terrible at small talk. 

Daisy returned after a bit with a sandwich and a bag of chips and sat down across from Melinda. 

“Everyone’s so nice here,” she said with a smile.

Melinda raised her eyebrows and glanced around at the business people who were populating the food court, none of whom seemed particularly friendly. 

Daisy laughed. “I meant the employees at the food places; they seem more connected with the town.” 

“They are.” 

Melinda looked up and found that she and Daisy were being addressed by a smiling woman who, in contrast to the rest of the employees in the food court, seemed extremely friendly. She was accompanied by a larger man dressed like he should have been working in a garage of some kind. 

Most of the business people who work here don’t actually live in town; they commute from the next city over. It’s just cheaper to have their companies out here,” the woman explained brightly. “You two are the new consultants, right?” 

Daisy nodded and introduced herself and Melinda quickly, shaking hands with the smiling woman. 

“I’m Elena Rodriquez, and this is my husband Mack,” the woman continued. “Mind if we join you?” 

Daisy nodded eagerly, and the pair sat down around the table. 

“I’m the station manager for 94.7 up on the top floor,” Elena clarified. 

Melinda immediately remembered the sign she had seen when she parked her car that morning and the comments of the DJ on the station that she had heard the night before. 

“I hear you’re having trouble with your website,” Melinda commented, making eye contact with the woman only briefly.

Daisy glanced at Melinda, confused, but Elena just laughed. 

“Oh you heard about that?” she asked with a grin. “Yeah it’s been causing all sorts of trouble, but I think it’s all supposed to be fixed now.” 

“Well if you ever need any help, part of the reason May and I are here is web design, so we can take a look for you guys,” Daisy cut in quickly with a smile of her own. 

“Thank you,” Elena replied, seeming genuinely grateful. “I’ll pass that along.” 

Daisy frowned after a moment. “So this is kind of an odd place for a radio station, so far out of town,” she said hesitantly. 

Elena nodded immediately. “Yeah, back when the station started it looked like town was going to grow out this way, but then it didn’t, and we got left with a bunch of businesses and not much else. It’s us on the top, the ad agency on the second floor, and some other office on the ground floor – honestly we’re not quite sure what they’re doing. There’s some research lab nearby that it’s connected to, but they mostly just seem like faceless guys in suits.” She gestured toward a group of business people siting at a few tables in one corner all dressed very professionally and looking very serious, perhaps even more serious than the workers they’d been around all morning. 

Melinda couldn’t help but think that it looked quite a bit like business lunches she’d been to in the city. She had a good group of friends at the firm, but outside of them, business in the city was always very impersonal. 

“That’s why Elena wanted to grab you guys before they business people took you,” Mack spoke up finally, with a smile of his own. “She said you seemed nice.” 

Elena shrugged. “You do. And we don’t get too many new faces around here. Besides, Piper and Davis – those are our morning show hosts – they’re always looking for new faces to interview. I’m sure folks around here would love to hear the big city impressions of life over the mountain.”

Melinda shook her head immediately. There was no way she would ever go on air at a radio station, let alone one in a small town that she was certain she would never like. 

Elena laughed again. “Ah well, maybe some day we’ll get you.”

“Hey Mack-Hammer!” a man called as he passed their table, laughing with a coworker as they crossed the food court. 

“Very funny guys,” Mack called back, shaking his head. 

Daisy looked at the man curiously. 

Elena seemed amused. “We brought our five-year-old daughter Hope into the station last week, and Mack had her on for a bit while he was DJ-ing,” she explained. “I’d asked her if she could think of a good radio name for Mack, and she said ‘Mack-Hammer’ on air. People found it amusing.” 

Mack shook his head again. “I’m a mechanic in town, and the guys I work with all thought it was hilarious so they bring it up all the time.” He sighed. “And of course everyone here at the station is on me constantly, like those two technicians.” He gestured at the passing men who had just teased him. “But I think Phil’s the worst for sure. Always making MC Hammer jokes about how I ‘can’t touch’ the sound equipment. Hope doesn’t even know who MC Hammer is!” 

Melinda sat up a little straighter at the mention of the DJ that she had heard the night before. 

“Who’s Phil?” Daisy asked before Melinda could say anything. 

“He’s the assistant manager of the station,” Elena replied with a soft smile, “and he does the evening show. Davis and Piper do their thing in the morning, Deke’s working right now, and he does requests and pop stuff over lunch and into the afternoon, Mack does the late afternoon and drive home, and then Phil does the evening until 11, and that’s more acoustic, indie, singer-songwriter sort of stuff. It’s whatever he wants, really.” 

“Phil actually writes some of his own music,” Mack added a slight note of pride in his voice. “He’s pretty good at it, a real nice voice. The guy’s kind of a fixture of the town; he grew up here, lived here all his life. He’s co-manager at a café, and he spends his mornings there and then comes down here and organizes events and works on the website and then DJs. Really, I can’t imagine when he finds time to sleep, let alone write anything.”

Melinda found herself listening intently to Mack and Elena’s descriptions of the DJ she had found so likeable the night before. Apparently he was a small town guy through and through, exactly the opposite of her. 

Mack looked around and then pointed out across the room. “Actually, Phil’s right over there talking with Davis. Davis is on the left.”

Melinda followed Mack’s finger and found two men talking together on the other side of the food court. The one on the left, Davis, was blond, while the other had brown hair and was giving off a sort of excitement and happiness that Melinda could sense even across the room. 

Melinda found she had been right about his smile the night before. He was laughing at something Davis had said and the effect was quite nice. Something about him seemed very kind, but maybe Melinda was reading too much into it. 

In that instant, Phil happened to glance over at their table and her eyes locked with his for a moment. Melinda felt her breath catch in her throat. Even across the room his blue eyes seemed to pierce her soul. 

But then he shook his head slightly and his gaze shifted away from Melinda, a smile spreading across his lips. “Mack-Hammer!” he called out, much to Mack’s annoyance. 

For a moment Melinda wondered if Phil would come join them, but then he and Davis took seats at the table where the two techs who had teased Mack were sitting along with a short-haired woman that Melinda assumed had to be Piper. 

Mack laughed in spite of everything. “He’s just the worst,” he said exasperatedly, though Melinda could sense the affection that Mack had for the other man. “And it’s all his fault anyway. He’s the one who started calling the station ‘The Shield’ because he’s some big Captain America fan, and that’s what gave Hope the idea – Mack Hammer, like Thor’s hammer.” 

“That actually works pretty well,” Daisy said thoughtfully. 

“I know,” Mack groaned throwing his head back. “It’s perfect, and I hate it.”

Elena rubbed her husband’s back sympathetically, but Melinda could see the amused glint still in her eyes. 

“You need to get Phil back then,” Melinda found herself saying. “Find some dumb name for him.” 

Mack looked up at her, excitement spreading across his face. “Yes! That’s _exactly_ what I need to do! Okay. That’s my new project for the rest of the day.” 

Melinda shook her head at how excited the man was to tease his coworker, but she found herself smiling in spite of herself.

The group chatted for a while, Mack trying to think up lame nicknames for Phil for a while before Elena started asking Daisy and Melinda questions about what they were doing and where they had been working in the city, as Daisy replied with questions of her own for Mack and Elena about the town and their work at the radio station. 

Eventually they all joined the other business people in heading back up to work, but Melinda was certain that the couple would be at least semi-regular lunch companions for the foreseeable future. 

And, oddly enough, she actually didn’t mind that much. Melinda had little hope that she and Daisy would ever stay in touch with Elena and Mack after they left, but having a couple of nice people to eat lunch with wasn’t the worst thing in the world. 

The group parted ways in the stairwell, leaving Daisy and Melinda to head back over to their desks.

“Wait, so how did you know about the radio station website?” Daisy asked Melinda curiously. 

Melinda shrugged. “I needed something to listen to on the drive in last night, and it was the first station that wasn’t country music.” 

Daisy laughed but then looked thoughtful. “But you never pay attention to stuff that radio DJs say. You always skip around so you don’t have to hear them talk.” 

Daisy was right about that; Melinda had very little tolerance for radio chatter when she was driving. 

 _Usually,_ that was. 

“I just didn’t feel like finding a new station,” Melinda said in a voice she hoped was convincing. 

Daisy just nodded, seeming to accept it, before going back to her work. 

Melinda was just grateful that she didn’t have to explain anything about the particular DJ that had been talking about the station’s website and how she had really liked his voice.

And how he had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. 

The afternoon passed in much the same way the morning had, Melinda and Daisy mostly working by themselves at their computers punctuated by a meeting with a very unenthusiastic marketing department. 

Daisy ducked out at five to go call her boyfriend and told Melinda to let her know when she left so they could grab dinner in town together, but Melinda stayed at the office for a couple more hours, wanting to finish what she was doing so she could give a report to Bobbi back at the city office. 

It was about seven by the time that Melinda left, texting Daisy to make dinner plans. 

She turned on the car and flicked on the radio, remembering that she’d turned it off that morning to avoid listening to the Shield morning show. 

Some acoustic indie song was playing, and Melinda almost smiled. This was much better than listening to people banter about traffic and the local news.

The song ended as she pulled out of the parking lot, and the voice that she could now match to a face came on to identify the song. 

“So I heard that we had some comments about the malfunctioning website today,” Phil said after his introduction, “sorry about that folks, but I hope it’s been at least somewhat entertaining for you all.” 

Melinda raised her eyebrows slightly at that. Maybe Mack and Elena had passed along her comments.

“But I promise you now that everything’s back up and running,” Phil continued confidently. “In fact I’ll prove it to you. Let me just get on the website here, and I’ll send in a request, and…. Wait…. shit, I mean sorry, I, um, crap, uh… well… Have some new music!” the DJ ended almost frantically, though Melinda could tell he was still trying to put on a bit of a show for his audience. 

The station cut immediately to an indie song, and Melinda burst out laughing. 

She could imagine Phil up on the third floor trying to troubleshoot as he tried to pick out new music, his calm radio demeanor being tested by Internet glitches. 

Maybe she would have to pay the station a visit to help them out. She had almost half a mind to go up and help the poor guy out now, but that would be crazy. She’d never actually met Phil before, and besides, Daisy was waiting for her to get dinner. There was no reason to feel any attachment to this random DJ. 

Even if him trying to cover up his swearing on the radio was kind of cute.


	3. my friends are all so small town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sorry for the delay guys!! I was trying to get chapter 3 out before I left for vacation, but I got too busy and then I was gone for a week, plus I’ve been sick the last few days, so I only just got to do edits today. But the next bits of this should hopefully be up fairly quickly (definitely only a few days between chapters, I promise). 
> 
> But thank you all so much for such lovely comments on the first parts of this! I’m just so glad you guys are liking it so far – it really means a lot :) 
> 
> There’s some important stuff in this one. Hope you all like it!
> 
> Enjoy!

Whether it was Phil’s music selections on in the background or just because the day had gone well, Melinda found herself not minding the town all that much as she drove back from the office to meet Daisy. The buildings were kind of nice looking in the evening light, and there was a bit of charm in the place if she was being honest. 

Of course she would much rather be back in the city, she reassured herself, but there were worse places in the world than this little town.

The restaurant Daisy had selected, another recommendation from the hotel receptionist, turned out to be very good, though Melinda could have done without the overly friendly staff. 

“Those guys up at the radio station are pretty cool, right?” Daisy commented brightly after they ordered.

Melinda nodded almost in spite of herself. “It’s nice to have people to eat lunch with.” 

A wide smile spread across Daisy’s face. “And you said that you didn’t want to make any friends out here.”

Melinda rolled her eyes at her younger companion, though there wasn’t any real annoyance in it. “I don’t know if you should call them friends after one lunch.” 

“They’ll be our friends,” Daisy stated definitively. “And I want to meet the rest of them. Phil seems like a cool guy.”

Melinda nodded but didn’t say anything, unsure what would come out if she tried to comment on the man who was probably her favorite radio DJ even after only hearing him twice. 

Daisy gave her an odd look, but then she got a text from Lincoln, and the conversation turned toward Daisy’s boyfriend, who Melinda knew she missed a lot already. 

Apparently Daisy was planning on heading home for the weekend even though they’d barely arrived here, but Melinda understood; Daisy and Lincoln were rarely separated when they weren’t at work. 

“Why were you so excited to come out here if you’re just going to drive home all the time?” Melinda asked her friend curiously. 

Daisy shrugged sheepishly. “Lincoln’s from a small town, and he likes to talk about going back there or somewhere like it, so it seemed like a good chance to see how I like life outside the city. And if I know that I’m going to see him every weekend then it makes the month here a lot easier.” 

Melinda offered her friend a small smile. Daisy had been so happy in last year that she’d been dating Lincoln, and even if Melinda could never see herself in a place where bars were non-existent and restaurants closed by nine, Daisy had the right sort of excitement and enthusiasm to live anywhere she wanted. She and Lincoln could definitely be happy in a place like this. 

Melinda’s good mood evaporated when she finally returned to her hotel room and was met with the discovery that the air conditioning was broken and wouldn’t be fixed until tomorrow at the earliest. It wasn’t too hot in her room, but without the air on it was just warm and stuffy enough to be uncomfortable. 

It took her ages to fall asleep, even with a window open, and when she woke up the next morning to go to the gym before work, she was just as annoyed as she had been the day before. 

She listened to Davis and Piper’s morning show banter in the car for about a minute on the way to work before she had to shut it off, and besides an occasional word to Daisy, she said nothing all morning as she gradually settled in. 

Mack and Elena flagged Melinda and Daisy down at lunch again that day at a table that included the dreaded Davis and Piper as well as a couple more workers from the station.

Melinda looked around casually for Phil, but he didn’t seem to be in the food court that day, and Mack confirmed it for her when he mentioned that Phil was still at the coffee shop in town where he worked when he wasn’t at the station.

It turned out that Davis and Piper were actually pretty nice and funny when they weren’t blasting from her car speakers while she wanted to curse the entire town, and soon Davis had them all laughing with a story about something his baby had done the night before. Melinda had never been all that interested in stories about coworkers’ kids, but Mack and Elena’s daughter and Davis’s son actually sounded pretty cute. 

The group also spent half of lunch making fun of the one DJ Melinda had never seen or heard, Deke, who was apparently good at technical stuff but who had started arguing with listeners on air the day before. Melinda knew already that she preferred Phil to whoever this guy was. 

The afternoon was less tedious than the morning had been, if only for the diversion of lunch with a group that felt almost like her friends. Plus Melinda had a phone call with Bobbi to look forward to later to update her boss on the first days of their assignment. Melinda really did miss her friends back in the city, so it would be nice to catch up with Bobbi, even if she’d only been gone a few days.

Daisy started to pack up her things a bit before five, and Melinda decided to walk down with her to the first floor to grab some tea before the café closed. 

Melinda got her drink and went to go back to the stairwell when the door opened suddenly before she could even touch it, revealing a startled looking man on the other side. 

Phil Coulson. 

He blinked at her for a moment before he seemed to remember that he was blocking the doorway. “Oh, um, excuse me, sorry,” he said, his eyes shifting down almost nervously. He started to move around her, but then he stopped and looked up. “You’re one of the new consultants, right?” 

Melinda met his piercing blue eyes for the second time in her life, and it was all she could do to nod back at him. “Yeah, I am,” she replied as evenly as possible. “Everyone really knows everything around here, don’t they?” 

Phil grinned at her fully and shrugged. “Benefits of a small town.” 

Melinda raised her eyebrows, not quite sure she would call everyone knowing her business a benefit. 

“And I saw you with Mack and Elena at lunch yesterday,” he added quickly. “Which actually sounds a little creepier than me just knowing from town gossip. Forget I said that.” He ducked his head immediately. 

Melinda had to fight back a laugh at how flustered he was. 

“Oh, um, I’m Phil Coulson,” he introduced himself, glancing up hesitantly after Melinda didn’t reply. 

Melinda almost laughed again at that. “Yeah, I know.” 

Phil’s smile grew wider. “Like I said, benefits of a small town.” 

“For you at least,” Melinda replied evenly. 

Phil laughed appreciatively. “I guess that’s true. Only in a small town can one be recognized for being a radio DJ.” 

“That can’t happen often right?” Melinda asked a teasing hint to her voice. “I mean it’s not like they can see you.” 

“Wow, low blow,” Phil replied, but there was an amused gleam in his eyes.

Melinda offered a small half-apologetic smile. “Sorry to wound your ego, Mr. Small Town DJ.” 

Phil grinned at the moniker. “I’ll try to recover.” 

Melinda laughed lightly, but a quick glance at her watch told her that it was almost time to call Bobbi. “Well, I really should be getting back to work.” 

Phil tilted his head slightly in confusion. “It’s five o’clock, shouldn’t you be done for the day?” 

Melinda almost laughed again at that. “I haven’t left work at five in a really long time.”

Phil frowned slightly. “You shouldn’t overwork yourself like that.” 

Melinda raised her eyebrows skeptically. “From what I heard, you work something like 16 hours a day.”

Phil shrugged. “If you love what you do, then you never work a day in your life, that’s what they say right?” 

“And you’re assuming that I don’t love what I do?” Melinda said defensively, moving back from him slightly, her eyes narrowing. 

Phil seemed taken aback by her question. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate that, really, I didn’t.” His eyes radiated remorse. 

Melinda relaxed at Phil’s apology and shook her head to dismiss it. “I mean I don’t love work, but it is a really nice office in the city, and I work with some pretty great people out there.” 

“Yeah, of course you do. I’m _so_ sorry, truly,” Phil practically groveled, trying desperately to walk back anything even slightly rude that he’d said.

Melinda almost smiled at his concern. 

“It’s okay. But, um, I do have to go,” Melinda said again, not quite sure whether she wanted to leave this increasingly awkward conversation or continue her exchange with this apologetic man who had a really nice smile. 

“Of course,” Phil replied quickly, clearly still upset that he’d insulted her. He started to turn away but then he stopped. “Oh, but, what was your name?”

Melinda smiled slightly. “Melinda May. Melinda, if you’d like.” 

Phil grinned at her and held out his hand. “Phil.” 

The shook hands and Phil started to walk past her, but Melinda quickly called out after him. 

“If you end up having any more trouble with your website let me know, I’m just downstairs and I’m sure I can help you sort it out,” she said, her tone even and just tinged with amusement.

Phil shook his head at her and smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind, Melinda.” 

She found that she really liked the sound of his voice when he said her name. 

She started up the stairwell, her thoughts on the man she had just left. On the radio, Phil had always seemed very calm and collected, and if he ever was flustered by something, it always seemed like part of a radio bit, something to make his audience laugh. But this Phil, walking back every other sentence he said, was different. She liked the charming radio Phil, but flustered in-person Phil was something else. 

It was pretty cute if she was being honest with herself. 

But that wasn’t something she should be thinking about a radio DJ she had only just met, especially when she was about to talk to her boss about actual important business things. 

As though to underline her argument to herself, Melinda’s phone started ringing before she even made it out of the stairwell. 

Melinda tried to refocus, banishing Phil from her mind. 

“Hey Bobbi,” she answered, her words coming out quicker than intended as she tried to sound as professional. 

“Hey May,” Bobbi replied seeming slightly confused. “Are you in the middle of something?”

“No, I’m free,” May covered for herself quickly. “I’m just walking back to my desk. I was grabbing a drink from this café downstairs.” 

“Oh okay. So how’s small town life treating you?” Melinda’s boss asked, amusement in her voice. 

Melinda almost rolled her eyes. “Not my favorite thing in the world.”

“Honestly that’s a lot less harsh than I thought it was going to be,” Bobbi intoned thoughtfully. “Has Daisy gotten to you?” 

“I’ve only been here two days, Bobbi, I haven’t been suffering all that much.” 

Bobbi laughed. “Well we’ve missed you guys around the office. Hunter and Fitz have been doing impressions of you guys at lunch so it’s like you’re back here.” 

“Dear God. We’ve been gone _two days_.” Melinda shook her head at the thought of her childish coworkers.

“I know,” Bobbi agreed, an amused smile behind her words. “I think Fitz is doing it because it makes Jemma laugh, which I suppose is a good enough reason. And Hunter’s just… Hunter.”

“Fair.” 

“So are you guys making any new friends out there?” Bobbi asked almost patronizingly.

“What are you my mother?” Melinda shot back. 

She could almost hear Bobbi’s eyeroll. “I know you don’t like to get attached to people or whatever, but I don’t want you holed up in your hotel room for a month.”

“God you really _do_ sound like my mother.”

“Fine, I’ll ask Daisy,” Bobbi said, resigned. 

“The office we’re in isn’t the friendliest,” Melinda acquiesced finally, not wanting Daisy to say anything bad about Melinda’s desire to keep to herself. “But there’s a radio station above us, and all the guys who work there are pretty nice.” 

“Oh cool!” Bobbi replied, seeming genuinely interested. “Local radio must be fun.” 

“I want to murder their morning show hosts every time I turn on my car before work.” 

Bobbi laughed. “But you still keep the station on, even with that? You must really like these radio guys.” 

Melinda rolled her eyes. “It’s not that. Their evening DJ plays acoustic and indie stuff. It’s nice.” She thought of Phil for a moment, his kind eyes that looked so concerned when he was flustered. “And he’s a good guy,” she added with a small smile. 

“Oh wait, _he?_ ” Bobbi pounced on Melinda’s almost unconscious admission. _  
_ “Do tell, May.” 

Melinda rolled her eyes again. “Bobbi I’ve met the guy _once_.” 

“And he likes the same kind of music as you, that’s something,” Bobbi brushed off Melinda’s defense of herself. “Is he cute?” 

Melinda cursed herself for mentioning Phil at all. “Bobbi, we’re supposed to be talking about the assignment.” 

“So he _is_ cute. I’ll have to ask Daisy about him.” Melinda could almost see the self-satisfied smirk on Bobbi’s face. 

“Daisy’s never met him.” 

“So you met this guy alone? Wow May.”

 Melinda needed to end this before it went too far. “Bobbi. You are the head of a consulting firm, and I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be gossiping about your employees.” 

Bobbi was silent for a moment. “Way to ruin the fun, May.”

“Do you want to hear about what Daisy and I have been working on or not?” 

Bobbi sighed dramatically. “ _Fine._ Go ahead.” 

But as Melinda gave her report to Bobbi, she found her friend’s question echoing in her mind. Yes, of course Phil was cute. A lot cuter than Melinda had realized when she’d seen him across the food court the day before. And he was sweet too. And funny. 

But she wasn’t going to do this. He was some random DJ that she’d spoken to one time, and she was leaving town in a month. She _wasn’t_ going to do this. Not again.


End file.
